2008 Woodie Awards
Saw it and Still Debating
A sadistic serial killer abducts people and forces them to play games to live or die.
Katie Pederson
Issue date: 11/5/04 Section: Entertainment
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This debut feature from up and coming writer and producer James Wan is a twisted mix of intense murder mystery and trepidation. The story begins when a confused young photographer named Adam, played by Leigh Whannell (Enter the Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded) wakes up in a disgustingly dingy, run down subterranean room, leg chained to a rusty pipe. Across the room from Adam is the similarly bewildered Dr. Lawrence Gordon, played by Cary Elwes (Twister, The Jungle Book, Liar Liar). Between the two lies a dead man in a pool of blood, a .38 pistol and a micro-cassette recorder.
Adam and Lawrence, neither of whom understand the reasons behind their capture nor have they met each other up until this point, are instructed by planted micro-cassette tapes that Lawrence has eight hours to murder Adam or he will forfeit the lives of his wife and daughter who are being held hostage. Together, Adam and Lawrence must uncover and recall the strange investigation of Detective David Tapp, played by Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), involving a serial killer known only as Jigsaw. Jigsaw forces the two men to reevaluate the meaning and value of their lives in a fashion much like that of the 2002 action flick Phonebooth. As time ticks slowly away, the two men are left with nothing but a few clues, their own recollection of the killer's history, and two handsaws- too blunt to break the steel chain shackles clasped to their ankles, but strong enough to break flesh and bone.
The Saw is the debut film of up and coming writer/director James Wan. The film was originally deemed so gruesome that it earned itself an NC-17 rating, but was reedited to accommodate the criteria to make it an R. The plot unfolds in a flashback-within-a-flashback style of storytelling, which severs the rhythm and creates an almost distracting jumping mess that detracts from the intense story taking place between Adam and Lawrence in the confining room. And still, Whannell and Ewels, in portraying the characters of Adam and Lawrence, at times exhibit such poor, C rated stage show drama acting that scenes meant to be taken literally in horror often made the audience convulse with laughter. Though some incredible cinematography between shots adds color and vivid terror to several scenes, and the story takes a new twist on the murder-mystery scene, the story itself is so meticulously explained that it leaves little to the viewer's imagination.
The essential nature of the plot is an amazingly twisted concept, but it is startlingly clear that from inception to conclusion there was definitely a piece of the creative jigsaw missing. But if The Saw was looking for one redeeming quality though, it comes in the last five minutes in a startlingly warped surprise ending that will have you shocked for days.
So then you have to be asking yourself, is it worth it? Is it a must see? Does it warrant my hard earned cash? My opinion is that for once, this interesting puzzle is up to you, spend your $6.50 only if you can go in anticipating a C+ movie and enjoy it for its few cinematographic and surprise ending twists, or instead just sit back and wait your three months to catch this repertoire necessity when it comes out on DVD.